Charity begins at home

[puttycake]

As America lurches deeper into chaos, is it time to seriously ponder the morality of spending billions of dollars on space exploration?

It can be tagged onto the existing debate about the morality of wasting billions of dollars and thousands of lives invading other countries to enforce one man's idea of what 'freedom' means. 

[mfewell]

Another USA-bash on the way ?

[mfewell]

More seriously, apart from mankind just giving up on exploration and generally finding things out, innumerable advances we take for granted would have never been made. Pertinent here is satellite weather forecasting and reporting, which whatever you want to make of the recent disaster, has saved countless lives by tracking hurricanes.

[january_bug]

I don't see how space exploration and, shall we say "political action" (I mean things like the war in/on Iraq... I'm not sure what the US try to pass it off as) can be tagged together.  People may agree with one, but think the other is morally wrong, for reasons well beyond money. 

I agree with mfewell that space exploration has brought many advances to mankind, and I hope that it will continue to do so. 

I don't know any exact figures, but I get the distinct impression that money would not have avoided the problems caused by Katrina, and also that, had US authorities acted more promptly and effectively, to use the resources they have, the situation in the Southern States would be better now.  I don't think the space programme and war on Iraq can be blamed for what appears, at face value, to be incompetence and perhaps even a lack of willing to help. 

Also - charity begins at home is an interesting choice of subject line, but I'm afraid I don't see the link between that phrase, space exploration, and Katrina.  There's a good chance I'm not thinking laterally enough, but I look forward to someone putting me right! :-)

[El D]

The people who bash space exploration always make me chuckle as they desire to quantify the benefits before undertaking any operation - the whole point of exploration and the challenge of going to such hostile enviroments is that in itself it is a stimulus which takes us in new and innovative directions. If we stopped doing anything unless we had proof of tangible benefits beforehand I have the feeling mankind would not be where it is today.

[jenstar]

I very much hope that space exploration does continue - someday I'm going to need that technology to escape...

[Romeo]

Wars and military invasions are a waste of money; space exploration is not. Space exploration benefits the human race, war doesn't.